KOTA KINABALU: Maritime officials seized some stolen wood and two vessels but lost two suspects who managed to ditch their stolen items and boat during a sea operation in Lahad Datu, Wednesday night (Feb 25).
The suspects on two boats had sped off and evaded capture when they reached a swampy area following a chase with maritime officials near Sungai Sepagaya,
Lahad Datu Maritime zone director, maritime commander Dzulfikhar Ali, said that in the 10pm raid, their team had noticed two suspicious vessels and approached them for inspection.
“Our officials noticed the two vessels, one pink and the other green in colour, during the Ops Pluto Timur and Ops Tiris 3.0 patrols,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Feb 26).
“They sped off as soon as they noticed our presence, and abandoned the boats when they neared a mangrove area before fleeing into the darkness,” he said.
Dzulfikhar said inspections of the vessels led to the discovery of 20 pieces of cut wood, believed to have been stolen and transported without a permit.
All items, including the boats, were worth around RM8,000, he said, adding that the seized items were brought back to base for investigations under the Forest Enactment 1968 and for possessing and bringing stolen goods.
“We will not compromise with any form of crime in Malaysian waters,” he said while urging those with more information about crimes at sea to contact the Lahad Datu Maritime Operations Centre via WhatsApp at 016-9305727 or the 999 emergency number for immediate action.
